Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon visits Jeju arts and tourism sites

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon visited Jeju Island on August 8 to tour the arts and tourism sites and watch the opening performance of the 29th Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival. This visit was the first by a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, and was arranged to directly hear voices from the field about revitalizing the arts and tourism in the Jeju region.

The Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival began in 1995 and has established itself as a world-class festival that includes wind and percussion performances and composition competitions. This year, various performances will be held at Jeju’s outdoor attractions, such as Jeju Stone Park and Seogwipo Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, and many visitors are expected to participate.

Before the opening performance, Minister Yoo visited the company ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’, which operates a performance tour themed on ‘Haenyeo’, a unique content of Jeju, and talked with the staff, and discussed ways to revitalize local culture and arts with Jeju’s senior and young cultural and artistic figures at the National Jeju Museum. Representatives of the Seire Theater Company, Maro Corporation, and Jeju Pungryuhoe Dumoak, representative art groups in Jeju recently selected through a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism competition, also attended the event and shared their opinions from the field.

[Korean Today] ’29th Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival’ promotional poster © Reporter Kim Mi-hee

Minister Yoo In-chon then rode a bicycle along the ‘Fantasy Bicycle Road’, a representative tourist attraction in Jeju, to ‘Honorable Hero Kang Seung-woo Road’ and the 6.25 War Memorial in Seongsan-eup, where he laid flowers and inspected the guidance system for revitalizing bicycle tourism. He also visited ‘Black Pig Street’, which is themed on Jeju black pigs, to inspect the recent tourist reception system and spent time communicating with merchants.

Minister Yoo said, “Art has the power to bring people together,” and added, “We will actively support local art and tourism activities so that domestic and foreign tourists can experience Jeju’s various charms, including the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival.”

Through this visit, Minister Yoo In-chon is expected to discuss the direction of development of Jeju art and tourism, strengthen communication with local artists, and contribute to further enhancing Jeju’s appeal.